"She is gone. There is no one here." Victor paused, finding it hard to believe that his mum and Megan were nowhere to be found. "Are you sure you checked well?" Saying this, he barged into the bedroom. Looking around the room, it was clear as Crystal that they were gone, as the room was now cold and void of life. "I have to find them," Victor said, panicky. "What's going on?" Hailey asks from the door, where she stood watching Victor and Anastasia. "My mum is gone, Megan ran away with her. I have to find her, they might not have gone far." Victor ran out. "Mum!" he screamed as he ran down the crooked stairs. Anastasia and Hailey followed suit. "Mrs Martinez," Hailey called out. Victor ran around the neighborhood, but all to no avail, there was no sign of Megan or his mum. "Excuse me, have you seen this lady?" He asked a guy who was passing by, showing him a photo of Megan. "Yes, she drove off with an old lady earlier today. That should be two or three hours ago." "Thank y
"The boys are setting him ablaze like you instructed.""Jesus Christ. I never said that. Go stop them immediately!" Victor yelled in panic."But Lucas said…"" He lied. I never said that," Victor cut him off.Hastily, they all ran off to save Vincent. With every step Victor took, he felt like life was being drained out of him, worried, panicky and exhausted. But then, he had to keep moving forward for his mum and younger brother. Getting to the backyard. Cries of protest erupted from Victor on seeing Vincent, tied up, soaked in kerosene and about to be shot from a distance."Release that bullet and lose your head!" Victor yelled.His words stilled the entire place. Everywhere became silent like a graveyard. He strutted over to Vincent and quickly freed him from the shackles that bound him to the seat." Are you okay?" Victor asked worriedly.Vincent scoffed."Why do you care? You instructed them to set me ablaze, now you show up like a hero to save me. Did you really think I will be m
Hailey got up to her feet and approached Megan who was now torn between listening to them and pulling the trigger. "Let's forget the past, Meg, please."Victor watched her approach, Megan. He kept kneeling, staring at Megan with pleading eyes. Vincent stood at a corner watching them with an uninterested look on his face. They were all so focused on Megan and Hailey that they failed to notice Lucas, stir. Lucas's eyes fluttered open and he slowly rose to his feet. The first thing that caught his attention was Hailey taking slow steps towards Megan. His face turned grim, knowing that Hailey was capable of influencing Megan's decision. He immediately looked around for something that could stop Hailey from getting to Megan. His eyes landed on the gun that was carelessly hanging on Vincent's waist. Swiftly, he snatched the gun from Vincent and fired a shot at Hailey. Vincent and Victor turned in his direction."Hailey!" Victor screamed.Hailey immediately turned around only to see a bulle
TWO MONTHS LATER It has been two months since that unpleasant day, two months since a beautiful soul left the world, two months since Vincent was sent to a mental assailant. Honestly, these past months were tormenting and draining. But life goes on. Hailey sighed as she slowly walked up to a tombstone. Victor stood behind her with a rose bouquet. Hailey crouched down to the tombstone. Gently, she cleared the dried roses on the tombstone. Tears clouded her vision, she blinked to stop her tears from falling, but it was pointless, tears streamed down her face and dropped on the inscription on the tombstone. HERE LIES MEGAN BLACK, AN ANGEL TOO GOOD FOR THIS VILE WORLD Reading the inscription for the hundredth time since Megan's demise, Hailey broke down. Victor too, teared up. But wiped his tears, he squatted down and pulled Hailey into his embrace. "It's alright, baby. She is in a better place right now." His voice cracked at the end. It took a lot of effort to restrain the tears t
TWENTY-TWO YEARS LATER TINA “Mum, who do you love most between Ryan and I?” I asked my mum whose entire attention was on my dad. My question made her look up, and upon meeting my eyes she sighed. “Did you have a fight with your brother again?” she asked. “Fight? What do you take me for? A teenager? For Christ’s sake mum, I’m 25. I’m no longer a kid,” I grumbled, looking away. “You definitely had a fight with your brother,” Dad butts in. He walked away from the cellar and approached me. “Tell me, baby. What caused the misunderstanding this time?” Dad asked. Sighing, I rose from the couch where I was seated beside Mum and approached him. Throwing myself into his arms. “Frederick Mills,” I called his full name. “Whatever caused your fight with your brother must be really serious, seeing how you called my full name,” Dad mumbled thoughtfully... “Rosaline Mills,” I call my mum. Who also looked up at me. Giving me a what the hell look. “Am I not old enough to make my own life dec
TINA A throbbing pain in my head made me wince and eventually open my eyes. The blinding light from an open window hit my eyes, making me shut it again. “What the fuck Ryan, do you want to blind me?” I growled, getting ready to pounce on Ryan. but then, no sound was heard. The entire room was calm and still. “Ryan should be laughing right now,” I thought. Shielding my eyes from the light with my hands, my eyes flutter open. Looking around the room, I realized that I was nowhere near my room. The curtains that were supposed to be white, were red. My pink bedsheet was now white. “Where am I? I mumble, looking around the room. Then, it clicked. Lucas and I had gotten a room last night. I immediately began looking around in search of him, but then there was no sign of him. I looked towards my right and noticed a door. “That might be the door to the bathroom,” I thought. “Maybe he is in there,” I mumbled to myself. I decided to get closer to the bathroom door and call out his name.
TINADeciding to end it all, I rose to my feet, grabbing hold of the handle of the already opened window. With great difficulty, I lifted myself from the floor to the window. My hand still clutching the handle tightly, I stared down. Unable to see the ground, I realized that indeed Lucas wasn’t joking when he said he specially chose the 20th floor.“Men are scum,” I cried. My voice, my cries, my shaky hands and my messed up self seemed nothing like me. I felt pathetic and unworthy to be called a Mills. Newfound determination suddenly shoots through me.“Fine, I’d rather end it here to save my family the pain and embarrassment of having a daughter like me.”Eyes shut, right foot pushed forward, I let go of the handle and let myself fall. “I’m sorry for being such a disgraceful daughter,” I mumbled, tears slipping down my cheeks. Just when I thought it was over, a hand suddenly grabbed hold of my arm, dragging me back into the room with so much force that I feared that my arms would br
A WEEK LATER TINA This past week has been very horrible and unbearable for me. I never stepped out of my room. I feel very ashamed and guilty to face my parents. I'm aware of how my scandal has negatively affected them all. Ryan hardly goes to the company these days, Dad manages both companies himself, all because of me. Honestly, I'm not worthy of having any of them. Ryan has been working hard on taking down all the videos, but it seemed like something that wouldn’t happen soon. I’ve always lived an extravagant life, flaunting my wealth at every little chance I get and this earned me lots of enemies. Each time Ryan succeeds in wiping out the videos, it gets leaked again from an unknown website. Ryan has always warned me about my way of life. I can remember his words clearly. “If you keep living like a rich spoilt bitch, it will come back and bite you hard one day.” I never took his words seriously, but now, I finally understood what he was saying. Facing him and the others is some
TINA You might say I made the wrong decision, you might say I needed a break from everyone, but I, Tina Mills say I don't. Yes, everyone close to me has hurt me in one way or the other, but getting hurt is one of the things that makes us stronger. I was finally at peace with everyone and held no grudge whatsoever against anyone, my past hurtful memories were forgotten and I no longer had a place to dwell. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Liam and I were now officially married! Our wedding was tagged as the most expensive wedding in the history of Sydney! We moved into our new house, a house Liam and I jointly built to raise our family in. “Mama!” Blake’s piercing voice echoed, separating me from my straying thoughts. “What's up little man,” I bumped fists with him. “Grandma is calling you,” he pointed in the direction of the kitchen. My entire family and I were on vacation. Dad, Liam, Victor and Ryan were playing video games in the living room, mum, Tiffany and Aunt Hailey were i
TINA It's been over six months since Lucas’ demise, six long months since everything died down. Lucas had been buried a day after he died. Liam was gloomy for a few days after his passing, which I didn't mind. At this moment, everything had gone back to the way it used to be before all the unfortunate incidents. Only a few things had changed, I was no longer the single spoilt princess of the Mills family, I was a wife and a mother now. “Mama,” Blake’s tiny voice resonated next to me validating what I had just said. “Blakey,” I smiled, pinching his nose. I picked him up from the floor and twirled him around. “Mama!” He giggled loudly. My little boy is now a year and a few months old. He has even started walking and spends half of his day going in and out of every corner of the house, he literally knows the entire house like his palms. “Where have you been Blakey?” I asked, settling down on the bed and placing him on my thigh. “I shall go down with Liar,” he giggled. “You mean yo
TINA Ever since that day Liam left the house to go find Lucas, I never felt comfortable. I was worried and uneasy. It was so bad that I couldn't even eat. Leah and Riley tried their best to help me calm down but I couldn't, I was just too worried. Each day I cling to Blake crying my eyes out. “Liam is a strong guy, he will definitely come back,” Leah sang these words like a song to me every passing day. Just yesterday, I was seated in the living room watching the door and waiting for the moment Liam would show up when the door was pushed open and Ethan walked in, alone. Seeing him walking towards me alone while he left here with many others filled my heart with uneasiness. “Where are the others?” I had asked. He sat me down and explained everything that transpired while they were out. “And Liam, where is he?” I asked, gazing at the door. “He decided to stay in the hospital with Lucas, he survived the hit.” I didn't know how to feel, It was all too much to take in and process.
TWO DAYS LATER LIAM It's been two days now since Lucas got out of the Operation theatre, two days since he was put down on this bed, two days since he failed to open his charming blue eyes. I haven't had any sleep since the day everything unfolded, I haven't even gone home yet. Guilt was eating me up, for some reason, I kept blaming myself for letting things get like this. Lucas didn't deserve this, he got deceived. Marcus should be the one lying here in pain. These few days, I regretted pulling the trigger and ending Marcus that way. He had a way too easy death and I blamed myself for it. He deserved to gnash his teeth in anguish and cry out for help which wouldn't ever get to him. But sadly, I gave him an easy death. Sighing, I put my head down on the bed next to Lucas. “I should have tried harder to convince you. You wouldn't have chosen this path if I did that. I'm a terrible brother,” I cried. “Just open your eyes, Lucas,” I pleaded, grabbing his nearly cold hands. “Let go o
LIAM One moment I was downcast and was about to cry about Lucas’ sudden passing, then the next, someone more shallow minded appeared. It broke my heart that he used poor Lucas this way and discarded him. I wondered if this would have been my fate if I never did a proper investigation into the cause of my father’s death. I stood still watching Marcus utter despicable words and confession of his multiple crimes. Each minute of standing there made me feel like shredding him to pieces but then I was powerless at the moment. When he revealed how he was indeed the one behind my dad’s death and everything thereof, I made a resolution in my heart at that moment. “Marcus’ blood will be spilled by me.” Anger and disgust bubbled inside of me with each passing minute, I watched him send out his men to attack Ryan and me. He stood at a distance watching us, probably to see how his men would rip us apart. In one swift move, I pulled out my gun from under my pants and pointed it at the men w
LIAM “Do you still want to do it alone?” Ryan asked. His words made me pause in my tracks and turn to him. “I'll do anything to keep my wife and son safe, even if it means teaming up with you. I promised my wife I would get rid of Lucas and I'll go to any lengths to fulfill that promise.” Ryan stayed silent for a while, just gazing at me. “Are we going to capture Lucas or do you want to keep staring like you've suddenly fallen in love with me?” I asked, eying him unpleasantly. He snarled at me, then began walking away. I followed him. “There is no car available,” he muttered. Ethan and the rest of us had visited here prior to today and I knew there was a little garage behind the building, I also knew where the car keys were. We had taken a safety precaution of fleeing, just in case things went haywire. “Wait here, I'll go get a car,” I muttered. Walking into the house, I randomly grabbed a key and headed for the garage, the key turned out to be that of a Maserati MC20. I go
Ryan I have been tracking my dad’s movement the entire time. My dad is someone who would do anything for the sake of his children. Considering how Tiffany wasn't his, but just my wife, I knew he was okay with using her as bait just to keep my mother and all of us safe. Starting from the moment they all agreed to use Tiffany as bait, I was upset, even mad that my gullible wife agreed to it. I mean, there is a possibility that she will lose her life in the process of being used as bait. I threatened to divorce her, just to make sure she didn't do it, but both she and I knew I wouldn't be able to divorce her. Earlier today, Tiffany suddenly went missing. It scared the hell out of me. I searched the entire house for her but she seemed to have disappeared into thin air and this was on the day I had found out my dad and the others planned to get Lucas. “They took Tiffany with them,” I concluded. Anger coursed through my veins and I rushed into my car. Instantly tracking my dad’s locat
LIAM Things got all serious the moment we all got into the car. We had chosen one vehicle as it seemed more convenient and allowed us all to communicate easily. “What's up with Lucas, he hasn't made any move yet,” I muttered staring down at the screen that showed Luacs pacing up and down a shabby looking room. “He got a call earlier and is waiting for help to get to him. Help is already on its way to him,” Ethan said. “We have just a problem,” Victor said. “His men.” He fell for the phone call and thinks a rescue vehicle is coming for him. “How about we send the police to him?” Tina’s dad suggested, but Ethan and I were quick to push the suggestion aside. “He gets help from the police,” Ethan muttered. “You should have seen how the police tried to protect his impersonator the night I ended his life.” “That dude has the police backing him up.” “You didn't actually kill the guy, right?” I asked, staring at Ethan “You know, when you have loved ones to protect, you'll be willing
LIAM I wanted to break the news of my sudden and urgent departure to Tina the moment I got home, but I didn't want to sadden her. The way she clung to my body, how she confessed her Love for me, all made me stall time. Even though I knew leaving was inevitable. I had planned with Ethan and the others on how to deal with Lucas and we came up with a plan to go away from our families while dealing with that Psycho. If we ever succeeded in capturing Lucas and keeping him in our house, it meant danger for our loved ones. Thankfully, Ethan had a hideout where he had hidden himself since the shooting incident to convince everyone that he was at the hospital. The moment Ethan and the others showed up and broke the news of my departure to Tina, her eyes became gloomy but then, she had that look of understanding on her face. The look that read “ I understand you're doing all these for me.” She had followed me into my room to help me pack up without saying a word to me. Facing my closet and